Today's post will be on Ann Siang Hill - a quiet, historic place in Singapore. Ann Siang Hill was named after Chia Ann Siang, a sawmiller who acquired this plot of land in the late 1800s. The shophouses in Ann Siang Hill were mainly built in the early 1900s, and are now restored fully. Many illiterate Chinese immigrants (in the 1900s) used to come to Ann Siang Hill to get letter-writers to write letters for them, to be sent back to their hometowns.
Before I went to Ann Siang Hill, I decided to take a walk around the banks of the Singapore River. Singapore has really changed over the years - it used to be swampy and rural, now it's become a modern, fast-paced society with lots of skyscrapers and traffic.
One thing I like about Singapore - roadside stalls selling canned drinks and ice-cream. I was really thirsty, so I got an iced lemon tea drink. It was amazing!
Wooden carved pole outside the Asian Civilisation Museum. Blends in well with the skyscrapers!
Had a really good plate of fried Hokkien prawn noodles at Maxwell Food Centre - a famous landmark in Singapore. I miss local Singaporean food now!
I was with my buddy that day, and she wanted to grab some egg tarts. So along the way (before going to Ann Siang Hill), we dropped by and got some! And as she was enjoying her egg tarts, I went around the area to take some pics.
We walked around for a while before finally locating the entrance to Ann Siang Hill! So up we went!
Spotted lots of colourful shophouses on both ends. Ann Siang Hill was a one-way street for cars too, and so it was pretty narrow. Many of these shophouses have been converted to cafes and restaurants.
The walkways under the shophouses were pretty narrow, but sufficient enough for some outdoor dining. Ann Siang Hill is usually more vibrant at night - we were there in the afternoon and it was so quiet.
This was the first restaurant we spotted when going up Ann Siang Hill.
If I remember correctly, this was a French restaurant. I was so tempted to go in and try their escargot!
Beautiful files outside some of the cafes. Most of them have been properly cleaned and well-maintained.
Chocolate cafe! I'd really love to go in someday, but it looked pretty expensive. Maybe I should save up some cash and try this place someday. I've got a list of cafes to visit when I next go back to Singapore.
Some of the more traditional shops had retained their original signboards, and these were well-maintained too. I wonder if they're still in use today.
Some of the other shops I passed by - when walking around the area. This area's like a mixture of old and new. Some shops were highly traditional and retained their old charm, while others were more modern.
I actually like both the old and new shops. All of them are really well-maintained!
We decided to call it a day after hanging around Ann Siang Hill. So we took a big loop and ended up in Chinatown...and then gradually walked back, passing by more shophouses......
And ended up back in the CBD - the modern part of Singapore where the office buildings were.
And that's it for Ann Siang Hill! This is probably my last post about Singapore for now, but I'll definitely be posting more Singapore pictures when I next go back. For now - let's focus on Australia!
Stay tuned!